Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is satisfied with the licensing of rural bus routes by the NTA; and his views on whether the NTA should be given more powers to refuse permission to a bus company, including Bus Éireann, to amend licensed routes or to revoke a licence to an operator for not fully or partially servicing a route. [38844/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​Licensing of public bus passenger services is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009.  Part 2 of this Act deals with licensing of public bus passenger services, including those in rural areas, and requires the NTA to review the operation of Part 2, at least every five years, and to submit a report of the findings of the review.

The first such review has been carried out by the NTA, who have recently submitted a report to my Department. This report of the findings of the review is under consideration in my Department and in due course I expect to determine what, if any, legislative changes are desirable having regard to the contents of the NTA report and any wider policy issues that I may consider relevant.